Henry hungerford



HENRYV HUNGERFORD, O It" NEW YORK, N. Y. Letters Patent No.r61,663, dated January 29, 1861 IMPROVED GARPT-STRETCHER.

TQ ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, HENRYoHUNGEnroaD, of the city of New Yer-k, Vin the county of New York, and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Carpet-Stretcher; and I do hereby declare that thefollowingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof, and of its mode or manner of operation, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, and making a part of this specification. v

My invention consists in the production of a carpet-stretcher which is greatly simplified in construction as comparedwith those heretofore used, and which can be operated also much-more easily, and is alike convenient for' use both in large and small rooms.

Figure 1 shows this improved carpet-stretcher in position ready for use.

.Figure 2 shows it folded together.

Figure 3 shows it packed suitably for transportation.

My improved carpet-stretcher is' composed of or consists of two .arms or legs, A and B, which connect together at one end, like a pair of dividers, by-a hinge-joint, 7L, so contrivedthat the other ends of such legs can open or spread horizontally or sideways from each other, as shown i'n lig..1, as far as desired or found necessary. The lower ends ofvthese legs are armed on their under sides with sharp points or spurs a and b, which pass through the carpetand into the floor, and thus furnish the points of resistance against which the movable arm or lever C, which is used to stretch thecarpet, acts. This lever C connects, about or a little below its centre, with the jointed ends of the legs Aand B, or with a central piece o'r block, E, in which such legs have their joints, by a hingejoint, c, so arranged that' such lever can have free motion up' and down, or in a direction opposite to that in which the legs A and B move. To the lower end of such lever C'is firmly and rigidly fixed a serrated or toothed spade or stirrup, D, which takes into the carpet more or less, at the will lot" the operator, and'by which the carpet is pushed forward and stretched, as the upper end of such lever is pressed downward and forward by him. The lon-g arm of this lever-is such as to vrequire the application o f but moderatev power, such as even females can easily exert, to suiiiciently stretch anycarpet, and the arrangement of such lever is also such that the power is vapplied at the best advantage. To retain the stretching-lever in any posit tion to which it may be pressed a'nd moved, and thus keep the carpet stretched while it is being nailed, a small chain, E, attached-to such lever, dropsv over ahook or projection, d', on the centrall blockvE, and prevents that lever rising and its lower end sliding back. This device or contrivance for holding or fastening such lever is also such as to be nearly, if not wholly, self-acting, and requires but the slightest attention to manipulate it. In tacking down at first a carpet at one side of a room,if any stretching is necessary, the legs are brought together, and the lever then acts in the same line of direction with them; and when a carpet is to be stretched near the side of any room where the legs cannot conveniently be spread they can also be brought together and the carpet strained and tacked and the stretcher moved, and the carpet be again strained and tacked as often as required. Generally, however, in using this stretcher the legs are spread from each other at their lower ends about the distance of a'breadth ofv carpeting, or suciently far so as not to interfere with or hinder the action of the stretching-lever C, which exerts its greatest power of tension about midway between the legs or the points a and b which make the points of resistance against which the lever C acts to stretch the carpet. As such points of resistance can, by the construction and arrangement of the legs A and B, be thrown each side of and away fromA and 'beyond the line of greatest strain or tension, they can be taken or pla-ced on any par't of the'iloor instead of against the side of the room, as heretofore has been necessary, and the stretcher can thus be made very short-short enough forthe smallest ordinary rooms, but yet long enoug'h for the. longest: This improved carpct-stretcher consists, in fact, of but four pieces, the two legs A and B and the stretching; lever C, with the small central block E, to and on which the legs and lever hinge and move. Such central block E' and the joints of the legs A and B, and of the lever C, will generally be made of malleablc iron or other metal, and the legs and stretching-lever will be of wood. The logs are generally about three feet 'long and the lever abouta foot longer. The stretcher is thus strong, and at the same time light and convenient to handle and operate. For convenience of transportation the hinge or joint e is made easily detachable, so as to readily permit the several parts to be placed and bound together, as shown in iig. 8. A firm and rigid toothed foot to take hold of, and by which the carpet is stretched or pushed forward, is also secured instead of a hinged or 2 stesa flexible foot. This latter is objectionable, as it is dicult'always to make such a. foot always properly take hold of the carpet, and such a. foot, to be effective, requires dierent surfaces or teeth of different lengths for carpets of different thicknesses.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is 1. A carpet-stretcher, so constructed and arranged thatv its fixed points, or -points of resistance, against which the straining-lever acts, can be placed each side of or away from and beyond the line of direction of strain or'tension of such straining-lever, for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination and arrangement of the lever C, legs A' and B, and centralor supporting-block E, operating severally and together, substantially as and forthepurpoyses set forth.

3. In combination with thesupporting-legs -A B, or their equivalent, the arrangement of the straining-lever C, with its fasteningl 1l', and operating substantially'as set forth.

l HENRY -HNGERFORD.

Witnesses: y y

S. D. LAW, v

W.R. RoNALDs. 

